NEWS

Communities 2032 Strategy Launched
Neighbourhood and Community Centres at the heart of Queensland Government’s first long-term strategy for our communities

In the last weeks of 2022, Leeanne Enoch MP launched the Communities 2032 Strategy alongside NCQ CEO Em James and Deb Crompton at the Mount Gravatt Community Centre. 
 
The 10-year whole-of-government strategy is the first long-term, community-based strategy in Queensland’s history. Communities 2032 outlines an inclusive, innovative and positive roadmap for Queensland communities that encourages diversity and social cohesion. Released alongside Communities 2032 Strategy is the Communities 2032 Action Plan 2022 – 2025 which details the first 3 years of how the Strategy’s vision will be delivered. 

We are genuinely excited to see the core principles that Neighbourhood and Community Centres are guided by reflected throughout the Communities 2032 Strategy, which acknowledges the effectiveness of place-based and community-led approaches to local issues as well as the importance of human rights, empowerment, equity, access, and participation. 

"The strategy’s focus on place-based and community-led approaches aligns with the work of our sector, creating opportunities for Neighbourhood and Community Centres to share their expertise and work across sectors and areas of government to create contextualised, holistic, and integrated responses to the challenges facing our communities," said NCQ CEO Em James.

The Communities 2032 Strategy acknowledges and further embeds neighbourhood and community centres at the heart of their communities. NCC’s are recognised in both the Strategy and Action Plan as vital to achieving the Strategy’s vision, mentioned more than 35 times throughout the Strategy and Action Plan. The Communities 2032 Strategy recognises the significant role Neighbourhood and Communities Centres play in strengthening the fabric of Queensland Communities, stating:  

“Neighbourhood and community centres operate across Queensland, offering a safe, welcoming environment for local community members to meet, socialise, contribute, and seek support. They are a vital part of our social infrastructure, helping to bring us together and build community, regardless of our background or circumstances.” (Communities 2032, p.27) 

NEWS

Back-to-school packs, discounted school supplies and NILS loans provided to families doing it tough across Queensland this week, as kids return to school 

As children and young people returned to school this week, Neighbourhood and Community Centres across Queensland identified thousands of families struggling to afford the school essentials such as stationery, textbooks, uniforms and school fees as cost-of-living pressures continue to increase.  

For children and young people returning to school without the essentials they need, they are at risk of being unable to fully participate in learning activities, access laptops, and even play outside without a hat. 
 
In addition to the ongoing supports and programs Neighbourhood and Community Centres  provide, many centres are delivering innovative, community-led and place-based initiatives to help their communities prepare for their children’s return to school.  

Em James, CEO of the peak body Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, said “Never before have we seen so many families seeking support from their local Neighbourhood and Community Centre. Centres are working alongside their communities to ensure that every child and young person is included in learning and school social activities, regardless of the financial situation they are in.”  
 
“Centres offer a personal approach and actively strengthen the inclusiveness, accessibility and safety of their local communities in ways that bring communities together to solve challenges.” Em said.

NEWS

Thousands of food and gift hampers, inclusive events and innovative supports delivered throughout festive season

In 2022, the rising cost-of-living and increasing financial hardship meant that over 2.5 million Australians were reaching out for charitable support over the holiday period (Salvation Army, 2022). A study conducted by PureProfile and the Salvation Army found millions of Australians were concerned about not being able to afford Christmas presents for their children, provide a Christmas meal and pay for their utilities and rent. 

“We are deeply concerned to hear about the agonising choices every-day Australians are making, such as deciding whether to pay an electricity bill or buy a Christmas present for their child.” Major Bruce Harmer from the Salvation Army said. “And the guilt and emotional toll of not being able to provide the basics for their family is the real but often hidden cost of financial hardship.”

On top of the year-round supports Neighbourhood and Community Centres provide, in December almost all Centres in Queensland delivered specialised Christmas food and gift hampers, inclusive events and innovative supports for the people in their communities.

NEWS

NCQ Management Committee 2023

We are pleased to share that the NCQ Management Committee for 2023 has been formalised. We welcome back some familiar faces this year, along with some representatives newly elected to the Management Committee. 

President: Alana Wahl from Laidley Neighbourhood Centre  
Treasurer: Louise Judge from Chinchilla Community Centre
Secretary: Caroline Cuckson from Deception Bay Neighbourhood Centre 

Board Members:
Tomas Passeggi from Caloundra Community Centre 
Mel Hilditch from Community+ in Brisbane's Inner South
Sandra Elton from North Townsville Community Hub (NOTCH)
Tracey Dickinson from Better Together Community Support in the Atherton Tablelands

Associate Member: Fiona Hunt from Basic Rights Queensland

Thank you
We thank retiring Management Committee Member Tanya Stevens from Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, for her valuable contributions to the organisation and the sector. 

We also acknowledge Val Edwards from The Neighbourhood Hub Mackay who transitioned careers and left the role mid-2022, and Nicolette Ffrost who took over from Val for the end of 2022. 

NEWS

20-minutes could help secure your centre’s organisational resilience

How relieved would you feel, if in just 20-minutes you could complete a peer-designed scorecard that builds your organisational resilience and can inform your annual planning processes?

In this article, on CSIA’s recently launched Resilience Maturity Scorecard we show you the importance of developing a strategy to build your disaster resilience maturity while incorporating it easily and quickly into your annual planning processes.

What is disaster resilience maturity?

Resilience maturity – as an executive level strategy – goes beyond the operational response to a disaster and tackles how an organisation can adapt, learn and grow during periods of disaster management to increase their effectiveness and position.

Resilience maturity is about your business’ capacity to respond to short term shocks as well as long term challenges. It also explores whether your business can survive and thrive in the face of those challenges. In this context, the shocks and challenges we’re looking at are specifically related to disasters.

Organisations will be at varying stages of resilience maturity ranging from those who accept the adversity of a disaster and cease to operate, through to those who are not just surviving but who are also able to improve on their business-as-usual and possibly take advantage of market opportunities.

NEWS

Meet Melanie Maher - NCQ's Sector Development Lead in Communications and Digital Engagement

Melanie is our Sector Development Lead in Communications and Digital Engagement at Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, having joined the team in late 2021. 
 
Melanie came to the team as an experienced strategic communications designer, dedicated to social and environmental justice. Using her skills in strategy, communications, visual design and digital engagement, she’d spent the last 12 years working alongside for-purpose organisations to achieve substantial impact at the local, state and national levels. Melanie has worked on a diverse range of projects such as leading state-wide communications in Federal Election Political Campaigns; designing awareness and fundraising initiatives (including those for poverty in Hong Kong and environmental protection in Tasmania) and collaborating with environmental researchers to achieve public policy reform. Melanie is also a university lecturer with over 9 years of experience in designing and delivering lectures, workshops and courses. 

Growing up in the small regional village of The Channon, in Northern NSW, Melanie has long appreciated the importance of people coming together to speak up and stand together for the change they want to see in their community. “I grew up swimming in Protestors Falls, which was not too far from my home. The Terania Creek rainforest surrounding the falls was the site of the first sucessful anti-logging demonstrations in Australia in the late 1970s. Without local people coming together to campaign, the forest along with all of the sacred sites, animals and memories it held would have been destroyed.”

Melanie was inspired to work in the Neighbourhood and Community Centre space because of the dedicated people she’s met and the potential to grow the recognition, resourcing and ultimately the impact of the sector. 

 "The staff and volunteers I've met at Neighbourhood and Community Centres are some of the most deeply caring people I've met, who go to significant lengths to support people through hard times whilst also growing the inclusivity and connectedness of their local communities in really creative and empowering ways. As our research shows, they've been remarkably effective - together, they impact the lives of over 1.6 million Queenslanders a year. They inspire me.” 

EVENTS

The World Community Development Conference will be hosted from the 19-22 June 2023, in Darwin.

The World Community Development Conference will be hosted from the 19-22 June 2023, in Darwin.

The conference provides a unique opportunity for global practitioners, participants, academics, policy makers, funders, and other stakeholders to share perspectives on current contexts and challenges for community development and community work.

The conference will embrace global First Nations communities, encompass cutting edge inputs, papers, creative installations, and poster presentations on rights-based community development, addressing and engaging locally, nationally, and internationally.

Practice Exchange
There is also the opportunity to take part in a one, two or four day Practice Exchange following the conference to experience community development in action around Darwin, in the broader Northern Territory and across the Tasman in New Zealand. 

The Practice Exchanges are designed to enable a deeper understanding of the context and practice of community development in remote, rural, and urban communities in Australia and New Zealand.

EVENTS

Community Development Practice Day - Housing Insecurity & Homelessness
CD Queensland

Community Development Queensland are hosting a full day event to reflect on the practice of community development in response to housing insecurity and homelessness. 

The event will explore the stories of people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness and their journey organising at local, regional, state and national levels toward social and structural change. 

Key Themes of the Event:

• Community development responses to housing insecurity & homelessness.
• Impact of engaging people with a lived experience of housing insecurity.
• Leading social change work in collaboration with diverse voices & structures.
• Movement from personal to political, creating a shared analysis of the situation and linking change with public policy and related systems.
• Reflective tools and approaches to gain insights into our practice.
• Peer learning to expand your community development practice framework.
• Responding to calls to action.

The in-person event will run on Wednesday 15 March from 8.15am - 4.00pm at 114, 14 Sportsman Parade, Bokarina QLD.

RESOURCES

Communities 2032 Strategy & Action Plan
Queensland Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy

Queensland Communities 2032 is “Queenslands first long-term, holistic strategy for our communities” (DCHDE 2022). It is a long-term plan developed by the Queensland Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy. The plan focuses on inclusive and cohesive communities and provides a roadmap to four key aspirations set out by the Queensland Government.

Queensland Communities Action Plan 2022 - 2025 outlines the initial stages of the government’s 10 year community-driven strategy. The Action Plan details government commitments, key priorities and aims as well as the principles that will underpin and drive the overall strategy.

RESOURCES

Indigenous Voice Co-design Process
Final Report to the Australian Government

The Indigenous Voice Co-design Process Final Report is the result of 18 months of collaborative processes. The report provides a detailed and implementable plan and recommendations to include the voices of First Nations Peoples in the Australian Government and Parliament. The process was led primarily by First Nations Peoples and included feedback and refinements from over 9,400 individuals and organisations.

“The final proposals and recommendations in this report are the product of a genuine and thorough co-design, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and undertaken in partnership with Government.”

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Coordinator

Thursday Island Neighbourhood Community Centre

Job posted on: 18 November, 2022
Applications Close: 31 January 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Service Navigator/Targeted Case Management

Tara & District Support Committee Inc

Job posted on: 13 January 2023
Applications Close: 4pm 31 January 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Care Finder Brisbane North

Communify Qld 

Job posted on: 18 January 2023
Applications Close: 5pm 31 January 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Care Finder Brisbane South

Communify Qld 

Job posted on: 18 January 2023
Applications Close: 5pm 31 January 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Connect Worker 

Maryborough Neighbourhood Centre

Job posted on: 23 January 2023
Applications Close: 4pm 3 February 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Connect Worker 

Gin Gin Neighbourhood Centre

Job posted on: 12 January 2023
Applications Close: 09 February 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Connect Worker 

Bundaberg & District Neighbourhood Centre

Job posted on: 5 January 2023
Applications Close: 09 February 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Development Worker

Caloundra Community Centre

Job posted on: 17 January 2023
Applications Close: 13 February 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Early Childhood Teacher

Communify Qld 

Job posted on: 11 January 2023
Applications Close: 18 February 2023

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Connect Worker

The Neighbourhood Hub, Mackay

Job posted on: 19 December 2022
Applications Close: Ongoing

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Catering & Kitchen Officer

St David's Neighbourhood Centre

Job posted on: 16 January 2023
Applications Close: Ongoing

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Access Worker

Communify Qld 

Job posted on: 25 January 2023
Applications Close: Ongoing

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Services Worker

North Townsville Community Hub Inc

Job posted on: 12 January 2023
Applications Close: Ongoing

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Book Keeper

Logan East Community Neighbourhood Association Inc

Job posted on: 27 January 2023
Applications Close: Ongoing

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Employment & Training Support Mentor/Case Manager

Deception Bay Neighbourhood Centre

Job posted on: 17 January 2023
Applications Close: Ongoing

CALENDAR

Upcoming dates of recognition or celebration

22 January - 05 February Lunar New Year
24 January International Day of Education
26 January Invasion Day/Survival Day
05 - 06 February Tu B'Shevat
18 February Maha Shivaratri
20 February World Day of Social Justice
01 March Zero Discrimination Day